Personal Injury and Litigation Blogs
Pandemic Radically Shifted Health Insurance Claims
Disability law practitioners need to understand how the COVID pandemic has changed the overall health of Canadians, which in turn has affected the types of long-term disability (LTD) insurance claims you can expect to be handling.Since the appearance of COVID-19, through lockdowns and into the return to “normal” life, the types and volumes of disability claims have changed significantly. Mental disorders lead claims overall, but new trends and impacts have
Deciding Fault in Self-Driving MVA Cases
If a “driverless” vehicle with a person at the wheel injures or kills someone, who – or what – is at fault?This is no longer science fiction or a mind experiment. Forecasts project 4.5 million self-driving cars on USA roads by 2035, which could translate to 500 thousand such vehicles in Canada. The Victoria Transportation Policy Institute in BC predicts autonomous vehicles (AV’s) will make up half of Canada’s new
FSRA Disciplines Health Service Providers
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) regulates the billing and business practices of licensed Service Providers (SPs) who receive direct payment from auto insurers under the Statutory Accident Benefits Schedule (SABS) through the Health Claims for Auto Insurance (HCAI) billing system. SPs include clinics providing medical and rehabilitation services, and assessments and examinations providers. All SPs must submit requests and billing for goods and services via HCAI, but
Insurers Need to Recognize Chronic Pain as a Disabling Disease
Since 2019 the World Health Organization has recognized chronic pain as a disease, but insurance companies have not kept up with the times. This is important knowledge for personal injury lawyers who have many plaintiff clients involved in MVA and disability cases who suffer long-term pain.Pain is chronic when it lasts more than three months. Chronic pain affects women slightly more than men, is associated with other diseases such as
Big Auto Insurers Are Litigious And Have Regulatory Clout
Personal injury lawyers should be concerned about the growing market concentration of large auto insurance companies, the largest insurers’ propensity to litigate, and their influence in the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA). Big insurers keep getting bigger and more litigious About 20 years ago, the top ten property & casualty insurers accounted for approximately 10% of the total market. That percentage grew to 33% in only five years,
Rental Vehicle “Insurance” Isn’t Always Insurance
Personal injury plaintiff counsel assessing the merits of a motor vehicle accident (MVA) can find the case complicated if a rented vehicle is involved. Whether the injured person was the driver or passenger in a rented vehicle, or was struck by a rental, raises a host of issues. In Canada, purchasing additional auto insurance from a rental company is not mandatory. Like standard auto insurance, this type of coverage is
Are Personal Injury Tribunals Constitutional?
We have written in the past about the tribunals in British Columbia and Ontario that manage some aspects of insurance disputes involving motor vehicle accident (MVA) personal injuries. BC’s tribunal has run into repeated constitutional difficulties, while Ontario’s has avoided this so far. British Columbia’s Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) was set up in 2016 to remove some small claims from the provincial court and some disputes from the BC Supreme
National Regulators Criticize Auto Insurers
The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) is a national association of provincial and territorial governments. They recently released two related reports: their Annual Statement on Market Conduct (ASMC) and their Cooperative Fair Treatment of Customers (FTC) Review. These lay out the standards expected of insurance companies in dealing with their customers and provide data on how many insurers are meeting these standards (and to what extent) including key issues
Broad Range Of “Shadow” Pandemic Disability Claims Anticipated
Disability lawyers can expect continued demand in 2022 from various COVID-related issues. We have recently written articles about the denial of disability insurance claims related to “long-haul” COVID-19 symptoms. The “shadow” pandemic includes other lingering health issues that will affect short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) insurance claims. According to the 2021 Benefits Canada Healthcare Survey, more than half of employer benefits plan sponsors said they anticipate different health
Auto Insurance Across Canada – UPDATE
The Insurance Bureau of Canada recently released their annual fact book. This includes a cross-Canada comparison of auto insurance systems, summarized here plus our update for Alberta. Quebec and Manitoba have government-run pure no-fault insurance regimes, with no right to sue for pain and suffering, nor for economic loss in excess of no-fault benefits. British Columbia’s new no-fault system allows claims for pain and suffering up to $5,627 for
